Protective legging



Aug. 30, 1966 M. PARKER ETAL PROTECTIVE LEGGING Filed April 6. 1964 INVENTORS Par/(er Wl/liam H. MDoni2l d? Mhche Joe 5. Gun

United States Patent M 3,269,036 PROTECTIVE LEGGING Mitchell Parker, William H. McDaniel, and Joe B. Gantt, all of Florala, Ala, assignors to Gator Chaps, Inc., a corporation of Alabama Filed Apr. 6, 1964, Ser. No. 357,540 1 Claim. (Cl. 36-2) This invention relates to a protective legging and more particularly to leggings which shall be adapted to encase the legs of a user whereby they are protected from snake bits and injuries caused by briars, brush and the like, thus adapting the leggings for use in snake-infested and heavy undergrowth areas.

An object of our invention is to provide a protective legging of the character designated which shall eliminate brush wear to clothes and boots.

Another object of our invention is to provide a protective legging of the character designated which shall be of a one-piece construction and at the same time shall provide complete protection for the legs of a user.

A further object of our invention is to provide a protective legging which is light in weight and at the same time is durable and adapted to take extremely rough wear whereby it is completely resistant to snake bite and brush and briar cuts.

A still further object of our invention is to provide a protective legging of the character designated which shall be simple of construction, economical of manufacture and one which may be assembled on the leg of the user and removed therefrom in a minimum of time and with a minimum of effort.

Briefly, our improved protective legging comprises a sheet of fabric of a size to encase a leg of a user with the side edges of the sheet being adjacent each other and adapted to be detachably connected to each other by a slide-type fastener. A metallic sheet of material is secured to a lower portion of the sheet of fabric and is also adapted to encase the leg of a user while the side edges of the sheet of fabric are secured to each other, The legging is supported from the upper end thereof whereby the weight of the legging is not supported by the shoes of a user.

A protective legging embodying features of our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this application, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view showing a legging removed from the leg of a user;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a pair of leggings in use;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken generally along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and,

FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view showing the legging encasing a leg of the user.

Referring now to the drawing for a better understanding of our invention, we show in FIG. 2 a legging 10 encasing each leg of a user. Each legging 10 comprises a sheet of fabric 11, such as heavy duty canvas or the like, of a size to encase a leg of a user with the side edges 12 and 13 thereof adjacent each other, as shown in FIG. 4. The sheet of fabric is of a size and shape to cling to and fit closely adjacent a leg of the user to permit normal movement of the legs of the user. The legging is thus adapted to move from the relatively flat position shown in FIG. 1 to the operating position shown in FIG. 4 with the side edges 12 and 13 extending adjacent and parallel to each other. The side edges 12 and 13 are connected to each other at the lower portion of the sheet of fabric 11 by a slide-type fastener 14, as clearly shown in FIG. 4. Preferably, the slide-type fastener 14 extends to a height subjacent the knee of the user. The side edges 12 and 13 are connected to each other above the knee of the user 7 3,269,036 Patented August 30, 1966 a user.

to the upper portion of the sheet of fabric 11, as shown in FIG. 1. After inserting the strap 17 through the grommet 19, the strap is folded on itself and stitched as at 21 to prevent separation of the strap from the sheet of fabric 11.

Secured to the lower portion of the sheet of fabric 11 1s a protective sheet of material 22 which is of a width substantially equal to the width of the lower portion of the sheet of fabric 11 whereby the protective sheet encases a leg of a user while the side edges 12 and 13 are connected to each other, as shown in FIG. 4. Preferably, the protective sheet 22 is formed of aluminum or other lightweight material whereby the lower portion of the legging is completely resistant to snake bites and cuts by brushes, briars and the like.

From the foregoing, the manner in which our improved legging is employed will be readily understood. The sheet of fabric 11 is positioned about a leg of a user and the side edges 12 and 13 are secured to each other by the slide-type fastener 14 and the snap-type fasteners 16, as shown in FIG. 4. The slide-type fastener 14 thus provides a continuous connection between the side edges 12 and 13 to a position subjacent the knee of the user to thus provide complete protection for that portion of the leg. Since the portion of the protective legging 10 above the knee of the user is in the form of a sheet of fabric, free movement and bending of the leg relative to the legging is permitted, thus providing a protective legging which is comfortable to wear. The upper portion of the sheet of fabric 11 is secured to the belt 18 of the user by the straps 17, whereby the legging is supported adjacent the upper end thereof instead of being supported from the shoes of a wearer. This aids further in providing a legging which is comfortable to wear.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that we have devised an improved protective legging which is extremely simple of construction and manufacture and one which is light 1n weight. By providing a composite legging unit which comprises a single member, there is no chance of parts thereof becoming separated and lost and at the same time the legging may be secured in place and removed from the leg of a user in a minimum of time and with a minimum of effort. By providing a protective sheet, such as the aluminum sheet 22, adjacent the lower portion of the legging, the portion of a leg of the user below the knee is completely encased by the protective sheet as well as the sheet of fabric and at the same time the knee and upper portion of the leg is adapted for free movement. Also, by providing a continuous connection between the side edges of the lower portion of the legging, the legging completely encloses the leg, thereby eliminating exposed areas. Furthermore, by supporting the entire protective legging from the upper end thereof, there is no weight on the shoes or boots of the user.

While we have shown our invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and we desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claim.

What we claim is:

A protective legging comprising:

(a) a sheet of fabric of a size to encase and fit closely adjacent a leg of a user with the side edges of said sheet of fabric adjacent each other, said sheet having a lower portion adapted to cover the leg of the user below the knee and an upper portion adapted to cover the leg thereabove,

(b) a slide-type fastener detachably connecting the lower portion of said side edges to each other,

(e) a flexible strap attached to the upper portion of said sheet of fabric and adapted to be connected to a belt of the user to support said sheet of fabric,

(d) a protective sheet of aluminum-like material secured to said lower portion of said sheet of fabric and being of a width substantially equal the width of said lower portion of said sheet of fabric whereby said protective sheet of material encases the lower References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Keefer 36-2 Claxton 36-2 Janalik 36-2 Parvin 36-2 Graham et a1 36-2 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

A. R. GUEST, Assistant Examiner. 

